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Wow, what an unusual decision!
As JuliannaTeresa said, the "getting started" part isn't any different. You call the same people, have the same orientation, same training, same homestudy.
Very few people choose to foster or adopt children of that age, so I imagine your choice will be a relief to a caseworker. So many children that age end up in group homes or shelters simply because of the lack of homes.
Do your own (extensive) research about "hurt" children. 16 year olds and 6 year olds can both be hurt the same way, but a 16 year old can cause much more damage if he/she chooses to act out about it. Learn ahead of time what to expect, and how to respond, and what your rights are as far as calling police, having a child removed, getting a lawyer to defend you against false accusations, etc. Those are the things DFS won't teach you. (If you get an easy child you won't have to worry about those. But if the DFS workers could tell ahead of time which children were easy and which were difficult, then half the foster parents out there would have fewer problems. It really is a guessing game until the child has lived with you for a while.)
One thing you'll run in to is that in most states, older teenagers have some say in the type of home in which they'll be placed, as well as a say in whether they'll be adopted or remain a long-term foster child. You might be turned down by a child because of your age, color, religion, location of home, etc. Or, you may be presented with a child who is willing to be fostered by you, but so far has refused to be adopted.
Note: children who don't want to be adopted, or who are iffy about that choice, are often not listed on photolistings. That's one reason there might not be too many listings of them in your area. Another is that older children like that aren't chosen for adoption very often, so perhaps the workers simply haven't prepared their profiles.
Sometimes children are willing to move, sometimes they're not. Depends on the child and the situation. If you're matched with a child out of your area, it will probably be your responsibility to travel to meet the child. If the child agrees at that point, he/she will probably make a trip to your house before officially moving there. But every situation is different, so after you're matched just go with the flow and see what happens.
Good luck! I'll be looking forward to seeing how it all works out for you.
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